I'm an hourglass... now what?

Hi, everyone! (Hi, Positively Neutral!) Long time lurker, first time poster. I sort of feel like there should be watered-down punch and stale cookies at this, my first YLF encounter.

As the title indicates, I'm an hourglass... hallelujah! I won't get into the hrr-umph's and grrr's about finding my PPL (measured my inseam today... 36.5") quite yet, but whilst upon my lurking adventures, I have seen several of you mention your "season". I've heard of cool/warm tones but never the "season" indicator. I am not quite sure what I am...on either scale. I've read you can look on the inside of your veins and if they look bluish, you're cool; greenish, you're warm. Or was it the other way around? I've done that a million times and depending on the time, temperature, lighting, etc., I can see both.

I have dark green eyes (some have said hazel, some have said definitively green, though), medium brunette hair, and a slightly fair complexion but not with pink tones, more yellow-y-ish tones. (however, I've also heard more of an olive skin tone ...depending what on what I'm wearing, I suppose). Point is, I'm all over the board.

How on earth do you figure out your skin tone/best color palette? I feel I look great in dark plums and navy blues.... and yes, I know a photo would help everyone out, but I just don't think I have the courage to do so... yet!

Oh! I'm also not sure if this should be filed under Body Type or What to Wear - sorry if there's any confusion. Thanks for your time and any responses would be greatly appreciated!

17 years ago

Anonymous

PN, I've never had those season color pallets work for me. Probably the best thing is to hold up different colors of fabric from around the house and your wardrobe to your face in a good daylight like a north window and just see what the color does to your skin, eyes, etc. (a friend is helpful. You can do each other).
Put the best colors in a pile and try to find paint chips at the hardware store that are as close as possible to your best colors. You can cut them out and glue them to an index card to carry with you when you shop, adding more when you find other great colors. That has helped me know when the stripes in a blouse I'm eyeing will blend with a sweater I own, for example.

Maya

Veteran

I think the whole season thing is a crock, quite frankly. It has never made any sense to me and never will. By now, I just kind of know what colors look good on me and what don't. There is no real science behind it. When I was in HS my favorite color was light blue, so I had a lot of different pieces in my wardrobe that were different tints of light blue. I always felt like I didn't look quite right in them, but I couldn't put my finger on why. Once I got a bit older and started paying more attention to how I dressed, I realized light, pastel colors made me look sick and dull, so I stopped wearing them. My best friend, OTOH, is fair and blonde and looks great in softer colors.

This is just a theory, but I wonder if contrast between hair and skin has anything to do with it. Going back to my example, I have a high contrast between my dark hair and medium olive skin whereas my friend has very little contrast between her light hair and light skin. Maybe that plays a role?

tarzy

Years ago, when I was in my 30's I guess, the whole "what's your season" thing was so popular. I never really got into it in terms of carrying around swatches - I just sort of figured out that I'm a "winter" - I have dark hair, fair skin, and look good in black, white, and crisp cool colors. I know that, for instance, if I buy a red - I need a blue-red, not an orange-red. I look horrible in warm fall colors - I can't wear orange or yellow at all. I also have hazel eyes, so some greens look great with my eyes, but if they have too much yellow they look bad with my skin. Jewel tones look better on me than pastels. But I still have to hold things up to my face to know if they'll look good or not. It helps in a general way - I know not to even bother with anything orange, yellow, gold, or pastel.

Here's a website that might be fun for you to explore if you just want to try to figure out your basic "season." You click on your hair color and go from there!
http://www.colormebeautiful.com/seasons/index.html

PositivelyNeutral

Member

Thanks so much for your help!

Joy - I walked around my apartment pulling anything I could find last night. I even smooshed my face against my couch (wheat colored) and took a picture. I'm sure if I had a pet, they would've thought I went loony!

Maya - I, too, look horrendous in pastels. I recently purchased a beautiful deep, warm pink cable knit sweater ($2.50 on clearance!!) that I wore on Monday and had more compliments than I knew what to do with. And as I'm writing this, I'm thinking of a light, bold blue that I feel pretty good in. So, with pastels, it's about the level of richness? I think of pastel as of Easter colors...

Tarzy - thanks for the link! According to that site, I'm an Autumn. Lightbulb - seems to make so much sense now!

I'm goin' bargain hunting today; it'll prove to be interesting with my newfound awareness of color. Knowledge is power! Hoo-ah!

susan

Active Member

I had my "colors" done years ago too, and promptly paid no attention to it. I bought what I liked and focused on the cuteness of the item, not how it looked on me. Foolish, I now know! When my daughter-in-law to be and I were shopping a couple of years ago, she was helping me choose a sweater. She commented that a certain color see to "lift" my complexion. That is when I really understood that it does make a difference. I was told I was a "winter" tending toward a "summer". Does that make sense?

Joy- I like your idea of the paint chips to carry in your purse.

Hope you have success today on your shopping adventure P/N!

Nicole

Hi Positively Neutral....Welcome to the YLF group! I'm terrible with colors--other than I know if someone looks good in a color they already have on. But I just wanted to say hi and welcome and thanks for coming out of the shadows to post!

Dani

Hi, PN...I'm really late to this post but just wanted to mention that I'm fairly close in coloring to you (I think by your description...hazel-green eyes, medium brown - auburn hair, but I'm very fair with freckles) and I'm probably best classified as a spring. BUT, I can definitely wear some cool colors (probably in the summer class) and some of the greens springs are supposed to be able to wear are horrible on me. I also prefer silver jewelry on me (and if you're a warm complexion, you're supposed to wear gold better).

Anyway, all that is to say pretty much what everyone else has already mentioned...the color analysis is a nice place to start if you have NO clue, but you also have to use judgement as well, which sounds like you're off to a great start. Hope you had fun shopping today!

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